CGOs recount volunteerism during flood

  • Published
  • By Contributor 1st Lt. Tina Tissot
  • Minot CGOC Secretary
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The month of June did not bring sunny summer months. Instead, historic flooding that displaced nearly 11,000 people, which included 1,200 Airmen and their families, was the event to define the summer of 2011.

City officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers went to work to create a plan and keep all in the area informed. Despite the constant news reports, no one really knew just how bad it would be. Some left their homes with only bare essentials. Others took whatever precautions they could to move furniture to higher ground. The downtown area was essentially designated an alternate duty location for volunteers from base.

Those not working on their own homes were helping others and vice versa. Company grade officers across the base played a critical role in handling the day to day mission so unit leadership could be freed up to handle the command and control aspect of continuing daily operations concurrently with flood relief efforts.

Capt. Jordan Wiersch, 54th Helicopter Squadron, said his unit leadership handled the situation beautifully by empowering the CGO corps to get the job done and get it done safe. Wiersch coordinated two teams from his unit to move a total of 14 houses over three days.

"I can say that not a single person from our unit lost personal possessions to the rising flood waters," he said. "Even after we were sure all of our fellow comrades, their spouses and homes were as safe as could be, the teams nearly just started picking random houses and started moving complete strangers over to Mesa Arena - it didn't stop until the sirens sounded."

One of the members of Wiersch's unit to receive assistance from his team was April Reddy. April's husband, Staff Sgt. Frank Reddy, deployed only a month before the evacuation.

"My husband's squadron showed up on my doorstep to help move my things and I didn't even have to call them," she said.
Wiersch said that he chose Reddy's home as his focus since her husband was deployed.

"I just wanted her to know that, husband gone or not, we are a family at the 54th and even though it may have seemed that way at the time, she was not alone," he said.

Right after the flooding, evacuations zones were highly controlled by the National Guard to prevent looters from entering and for the safety of residents trying to get to their homes. For those who fled their homes, this meant they had to wait to assess the damages.

Some like 1st Lt. Maggie Chittur, executive officer for the 5th Mission Support Group, were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of their home on local news footage.

Maggie and her husband, 1st Lt. Arun Chittur, 740th Missile Squadron ICBM combat crew deputy commander, bought a house in Burlington, N.D., when they came to Minot Air Force Base in 2009. Housing shortages even before the flood made the waiting period to get a place on base unexpectedly long.

The Chitturs chose a house that sat above the 1969 waterline. Like so many others, they did not have insurance to protect from the unexpected. "We couldn't get flood insurance if we tried because we were told we weren't in a flood zone," she said.

The Chitturs have since secured housing on base and have been spending every weekend back at their house to restore it to pre-flood conditions. They felt fortunate to have received monetary assistance from FEMA and, with the physical help from their unit members and friends, they were able to keep within the allotted amount. The only thing they had to fund is carpeting. Both agreed that despite it all, things could still be worse.

After the waters receded, the roads began to open and people were let in to view the destruction. "It was eerie seeing how life stood still," said 1st Lt. Jeremy Miller, 5th Force Support Squadron manpower and personnel flight commander. Airmen from the base hit the ground running to help clear the water-logged remnants of flood damaged homes and begin the cleanup process.

Miller was part of a team led by Capt. James Apholz, 5th FSS. Their primary goal was to take care of their unit members from evacuation to recovery.

"I'm just glad I could help, but it was nice to see how many people were helping others they had never met before. It was amazing to see the whole community come together," Miller said.

The stresses of the flood far exceeded just physical relocation. This, as well as other flood-related concerns, was expressed to Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Norton Schwartz, during his visit to the base. Capt. Jon Arceta, Minot Company Grade Officers' Council president, was the focal point for compiling the base's flood data that was briefed to General Schwartz.

As a result, money was allocated into an incentive program to send experts to help winterize homes and a 44 percent average increase in Base Housing Allowance. Additionally, Operation Home Front and Home Depot, in coordination with Operation Warmheart, donated appliances to families affected by the flood.

Throughout it all, the mission never stopped. During the following months, the CGOC pressed with planning efforts for the Air Force Ball. When base leadership considered cancelling the event in consideration of so many that had lost service and mess dress uniforms, the committee reorganized their planning and appropriately changed the event to 'Denim to Diamonds' theme. The gathering not only celebrated our Air Force heritage, but also the many accomplishments, despite the trials, Team Minot went through this year.

The recovery efforts are still ongoing, but the contributions and support from local organizations and the Air Force community has been tremendous.

"When this disaster is just a memory, we can look back and say that from oak leaves to slick sleeves, we did it right," said Wiersch. "We all got dirt under our fingernails and got through a rough time together. We all got through it because we relied on each other."

Minot Airmen, from all ranks, showed resiliency during trying times, proving to everyone that truly only the best come north.